Systems and methods for loyalty point distribution

ABSTRACT

A blockchain-based loyalty point system may include a blockchain API host that receives a request to transfer an amount of loyalty points from a first customer account to a second customer account. The system may validate the request by performing a cryptographic operation on the request using a public key associated with the first customer account. The system may also propagate a proposal to consensus participants for writing to a blockchain, wherein the proposal comprises the first customer account, the second customer account, and the amount of loyalty points. The system may also receive an exchange request from a loyalty wallet associated with the second customer account, validate the exchange request by performing the cryptographic operation on the exchange request using a public key, and propagate an exchange proposal to the consensus participants for writing to the blockchain.

FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to loyalty points, and moreparticularly, to systems and methods for loyalty point distributionusing a distributed database based on purchases.

BACKGROUND

Payment networks typically implement various systems for processingtransactions between merchants and customers. Merchants are members ofthe payment network and the merchants are authorized to charge tocustomer accounts. Customers have a transaction account with the paymentnetwork. To complete a transaction, a merchant typically transmits apayment request (or settlement) to the payment network with transactiondetails and the card member's account information. For payment networksusing loyalty points, options for using points are often limited to afew merchants.

Payment networks typically face increased costs and limitationsassociated with the traditional payment model. The payment networkimplements secure protocols for handling the payment requests, and suchsecure protocols along with network infrastructure are costly to developand maintain. The high network costs also result in high fees charged tomerchants using the payment network. Additional programs supported by apayment network such as loyalty points, for example, further increasecosts associated with security and infrastructure.

SUMMARY

A system, method, and computer readable medium (collectively, the“system”) is disclosed for operating a payment network based on loyaltypoints. The system may include a blockchain API host that receives arequest to transfer an amount of loyalty points from a first customeraccount to a second customer account. In addition to loyalty pointtransfers, the blockchain-based system may award loyalty points tocustomers in response to spending, redeem loyalty points for goods andservices, exchange of loyalty points into fiat currency, and executeother loyalty point transactions. The system may validate a request byperforming a cryptographic operation on the request using a public keyassociated with the first customer account. The system may alsopropagate a proposal to consensus participants for writing to ablockchain, wherein the proposal comprises the first customer account,the second customer account, and the amount of loyalty points.

In various embodiments, a loyalty wallet may run on a computing deviceand transmit the request to the blockchain API host using an API call.The consensus participants may achieve consensus on the proposal usingat least one of proof of work, proof of stake, practical byzantine faulttolerance, or delegated proof of stake, or any suitable consensusalgorithm. The system may also perform operations including receiving aregistration request for a customer account comprising the public key,validating the registration request by performing the cryptographicoperation on at least a portion of the registration request using thepublic key, and propagating, by the blockchain API host, a registrationproposal to the consensus participants for writing to the blockchain.The loyalty wallet may encrypt and/or store a private key correspondingto the public key.

In various embodiments, the system may also receive a registrationrequest for a loyalty partner site, validate the registration request byperforming the cryptographic operation on at least a portion of theregistration request using a public key associated with the loyaltypartner site, and propagate a registration proposal to the consensusparticipants for writing to the blockchain. The system may also receivea payment request from a loyalty wallet associated, validate the paymentrequest by performing the cryptographic operation on the paymentrequest, and propagate a payment proposal to the consensus participantsfor writing to the blockchain. The payment proposal may include themerchant account, the payment amount, and a customer account. The systemmay also receive an exchange request from a loyalty wallet associatedwith the second customer account, validate the exchange request byperforming the cryptographic operation on the exchange request using apublic key, and propagate an exchange proposal to the consensusparticipants for writing to the blockchain.

The forgoing features and elements may be combined in variouscombinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated hereinotherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation of thedisclosed embodiments will become more apparent in light of thefollowing description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of the present disclosure is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. Amore complete understanding of the present disclosure, however, may beobtained by referring to the detailed description and claims whenconsidered in connection with the drawing figures, wherein like numeralsdenote like elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates a loyalty point or digital currency system configuredto operate on a public, private, or semi-private leger maintained on ablockchain, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a process for registering users for a payment networkfor loyalty points using a blockchain-based leger, in accordance withvarious embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a process for shopping for loyalty point purchases ona website hosted by a merchant that accepts loyalty points as payment,in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process for checking a loyalty point balance on ablockchain-based leger, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a process for a user to spend their loyalty points,in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a process for peer-to-peer loyalty point transferusing a blockchain-based leger, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a process for adding a loyalty coalition member to ablockchain-based loyalty point system, in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates a process for adding a currency exchange to ablockchain-based loyalty point system, in accordance with variousembodiments; and

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary process for exchanging loyalty pointsfor fiat currency, in accordance with various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description of various embodiments refers to theaccompanying drawings, which show various embodiments by way ofillustration. While these various embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thedisclosure, it should be understood that other embodiments may berealized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Thus, thedetailed description is presented for purposes of illustration only andnot of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the methodor process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limitedto the order presented. Moreover, any of the functions or steps may beoutsourced to or performed by one or more third parties. Furthermore,any reference to singular includes plural embodiments, and any referenceto more than one component may include a singular embodiment.

A payment network based on peer-to-peer payments may be used tofacilitate most functions of traditional card payment networks and toenable additional services and functionality. For example, a blockchaindriven peer-to-peer payment network enables near-instant transactionauthorization and settlement. Payment, authorization, and/or settlementon such a network may result in money changing hands in an hour, 10minutes, a minute, or less depending on the infrastructure used toimplement the payment network. For a blockchain-based peer-to-peerpayment network, a governing organization or consortium may controlaccess to bank transfer services. Anyone can participate in the paymentnetwork, but in various embodiments, only users that registered with themanaging organization(s) may transfer earned credits into fiat currencyvia wire transfers to bank accounts. The blockchain may autonomouslymanage workflows associated with payment processing as described ingreater herein.

The payment networks use a distributed ledger, which may be based on ablockchain, and the payment networks have consensus-based transactionvalidation. Such payment networks may also enable digital currency smartcontracts that enforce business workflows in a decentralized manner andkeep track of account balances. The payment networks may also enablereputation based smart contracts that act as a directory of trustworthyentities as part of the network. A digital currency issuer may beincluded in the payment network and may be configured to transferbalances between external banks and digital currency based wallets vieelectronic funds transfer (EFT) systems. The digital currency issuer mayalso connect customers with lenders to convert lines of credit intodigital currencies. The payment network may also include digital walletservices deployed on user devices such as, for example, computers,tablets, smartphones, Internet of Things devices (IoT devices), etc. Thedigital wallet may enable payments by interacting with the smartcontracts and the blockchain underpinning the payment network.

FIG. 1 depicts a loyalty point network 100 that operates on a blockchain102, in accordance with various embodiments. Blockchain 102 may be adistributed database that maintains records in a readable manner andthat is resistant to tampering. The blockchain may comprise a system ofblocks containing data that are interconnected by reference to theprevious block. The blocks can hold file transfer data, smart contractdata, and/or other information as desired. Each block may link to theprevious block and may include a timestamp. When implemented in supportof a loyalty payment network 100, the blockchain may serve as animmutable log for loyalty point transactions and registrations. Theblockchain may be a peer-to-peer network that is private, consortiumand/or public in nature (e.g., Ethereum, Bitcoin, etc.). Consortium andprivate networks may offer improved control over the content of theblockchain and public networks may leverage the cumulative computingpower of the network to improve security. In that regard, blockchain 102may be implemented using technologies such as, for example, EthereumGETH, eth-lightwallet, or other suitable or future blockchain interfacetechnologies.

In various embodiments, blockchain 102 may be maintained by consensusparticipants 103 in the form of computing devices configured to validateblocks of the blockchain. Loyalty point network 100 comprises aplurality of blockchain API hosts 104 that communicate with blockchain102 in response to receiving API calls from various other computingdevices and systems seeking to read from or write to blockchain 102.Blockchain API hosts 104 and other computing devices described hereinmay take the form of a computer or processor, or a set ofcomputers/processors, although other types of computing units or systemsmay be used. Exemplary computing devices include servers, pooledservers, laptops, notebooks, hand held computers, personal digitalassistants, cellular phones, smart phones (e.g., iPhone®, BlackBerry®,Android®, etc.) tablets, wearables (e.g., smart watches and smartglasses), Internet of things (IOT) devices or any other device capableof receiving data over network. Each computing device may runapplications to interact with blockchain 110, communicate with otherdevices, perform crypto operations, and otherwise operate within loyaltypoint network 100. Computing devices may run a client application thatcan be a thin client (web) based, hybrid (i.e. web and native, such asiOS and Android), or native application to make API calls to blockchainAPI host 104 and interact with blockchain 102.

In various embodiments, blockchain API hosts 104 may host an outwardfacing API 108 accessible by communication over a network such as, forexample, a LAN, a WAN, and/or the Internet. As used herein, the term“network” includes any cloud, cloud computing system or electroniccommunications system or method that incorporates hardware and/orsoftware components. Communication among the parties may be accomplishedthrough any suitable communication channels, such as, for example, atelephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet, point ofinteraction device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant,cellular phone, kiosk, tablet, etc.), online communications, satellitecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications,transponder communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network(WAN), virtual private network (VPN), networked or linked devices,keyboard, mouse and/or any suitable communication or data inputmodality. Moreover, although the system is frequently described hereinas being implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, the systemmay also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI, anytunneling protocol (e.g. IPsec, SSH), or any number of existing orfuture protocols. If the network is in the nature of a public network,such as the Internet, it may be advantageous to presume the network tobe insecure and open to eavesdroppers. Specific information related tothe protocols, standards, and application software utilized inconnection with the Internet is generally known to those skilled in theart and, as such, need not be detailed herein. See, for example, DILIPNAIK, INTERNET STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS (1998); JAVA 2 COMPLETE, variousauthors, (Sybex 1999); DEBORAH RAY AND ERIC RAY, MASTERING HTML 4.0(1997); and LOSHIN, TCP/IP CLEARLY EXPLAINED (1997) and DAVID GOURLEYAND BRIAN TOTTY, HTTP, THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE (2002), the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

A network may be unsecure. Thus, communication over the network mayutilize data encryption. Encryption may be performed by way of any ofthe techniques now available in the art or which may become available(e.g., Twofish, RSA, El Gamal, Schorr signature, DSA, PGP, PKI, GnuPG,and other symmetric or asymmetric cryptosystems). Asymmetric encryptionin particular may be of use in signing and verifying signatures forblockchain crypto operations.

In various embodiments, API 108 may serve as a blockchain interfaceaccessible by applications and computing devices of loyalty pointnetwork 100. API 108 may be implemented using technologies such as, forexample, Ethereum GETH, eth-lightwallet, or other suitable blockchaininterface technologies. Loyalty wallets 105 may communicate withblockchain API host 104 using API 108. Loyalty wallet 105 may checkloyalty point balances, adjust loyalty point balances, transfer loyaltypoints, register a user or device, or otherwise manipulate loyaltypoints as allowed by loyalty point network 100. Loyalty wallet 105A, forexample, may run on a mobile device to enable customer 109 to interactwith blockchain 102 and his or her loyalty points.

In various embodiments, merchants that accept loyalty points fromloyalty point network 100 as a form of payment may host loyalty partnersites 106 on computing devices. Customer 109 may browse or searchloyalty partner site 106 for items in a manner similar to typicalecommerce sites. Once customer 109 has selected items for purchase,customer 109 may purchase the items using loyalty points. Loyaltypartner sites 106 may thus communicate with blockchain 102 throughblockchain API host 104 using API 108 to complete purchase transactionsusing loyalty points.

In various embodiments, currency exchange sites 107 may exchange loyaltypoints from customer 109 into fiat currency. Currency exchange sites mayinclude web sites hosted on computing devices remote from customer 109and/or brick and mortar locations such as currency exchange stores.Currency exchange sites 107 may communicate with blockchain 102 throughblockchain API host 104 using API 108.

In various embodiments, loyalty point network 100 may include controlsto restrict access to registered loyalty partner sites 106 and/orcurrency exchange sites 107. Certificate authority 112 may allowparticipants to join loyalty point network 100 or may disallow would-beparticipants from joining loyalty point network 100. Certificateauthority may communicate with blockchain 102 through consensusparticipants 103 of blockchain 102 using an API 108. Certificateauthority 112 may include a web interface for review of new currencyexchange sites by currency exchange candidate staff 113. Similarly,certificate authority 112 may include a web interface for review of newloyalty partner sites by loyalty coalition candidate staff 111. Thestaff members may thus approve or deny candidates for joining loyaltypoint network 100. Validation may include verifying of proof of identitysuch as, for example, phone number, employer id, SSN, or any sensitiveinformation that known by the employees of the respective entity.

Referring to FIG. 2, an exemplary registration process 200 is shown forloyalty point network 100, in accordance with various embodiments.Customer 109 may download and install a loyalty wallet 105 on his or hermobile device (Step 201). Loyalty wallet 105 may be in electroniccommunication with blockchain API host 104 over a network. Loyaltywallet 105 may generate and/or receive an asymmetric cryptography keypair including a private key paired with a public key (Step 202).Loyalty wallet 105 may display a mnemonic seed and password selectionscreen to customer 109, and it may use BIP32, BIP39, BIP44, or anotherkey generation technique to create public keys (e.g., blockchainaddresses) and private keys, which may be encrypted and stored locallyon the customer's computing device.

In various embodiments, loyalty wallet 105 may encrypt the private keyand securely store the private key for later use. Loyalty wallet 105 mayalso collect personal information from customer 109 (Step 203). Aregistration form may, for example, include fields for customer 109 toenter a user name and enter a password. Customer 109 may enter usercredentials comprising a user ID, password, and any other informationentered into the registration form of loyalty wallet 105.

In various embodiments, loyalty wallet 105 may prepare and sign aregistration request for transmission to a blockchain API host 104 (Step204). The registration request may include the personal information ofcustomer 109 (collected in step 203), the public key (generated in step202), an application ID, a device ID, an account number, or otherinformation germane to registration. In that regard, the blockchainaddress may be associated with the customer's loyalty point account. Thesignature may be a crypto operation performed with the private key fromthe asymmetric key pair (generated in step 202). Loyalty wallet 105 maytransmit the registration request to blockchain API host 104 (Step 205).Loyalty wallet 105 may make an API call to transmit the registrationrequest.

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may verify the signatureand prepare a proposal to register customer 109 (Step 206). BlockchainAPI host 104 may verify the signature by performing a crypto operationusing the public key to the data that was signed using the private key.Blockchain API host 104 may propagate the registration proposal toconsensus participants 103 (Step 207). Blockchain API host 104 maypropagate the registration proposal by writing it to the blockchain orby otherwise transmitting the proposal to consensus participants 103.Consensus participants 103 may achieve consensus and add a new ledgerfor customer 109 to blockchain 102 (Step 208). Consensus participants103 may validate registrations, loyalty point transactions, and anyother activity on blockchain 102 by establishing consensus between theparticipants based on proof of work, proof of stake, practical byzantinefault tolerance, delegated proof of stake, or other suitable consensusalgorithms. Consensus participants 103 may notify loyalty wallet 105 ofsuccessful registration by transmitting a confirmation, or by loyaltywallet locating the registration written on blockchain 102 (Step 209).

With reference to FIG. 3, process 300 is shown for shopping for onloyalty point network 100, in accordance with various embodiments.Customer 109 shops with a loyalty partner by browsing loyalty partnersite 106 (Step 301). Loyalty partner site 106 may prompt customer 109and/or loyalty wallet 105 for the corresponding loyalty account atcheckout (Step 302). The loyalty account may be identifiable by auniversally unique identifier (UUID), for example. Customer 109 mayprovide the loyalty account (Step 303) in response to the prompt byentering the loyalty account and/or by loyalty wallet 105 transmittingthe loyalty account.

In various embodiments, Loyalty partner site 106 may transmit a pointadjustment request to blockchain API host 104 (Step 304) using an APIcall. Blockchain API host 104 may execute a smart contract (Step 305) inresponse to receiving the API request to adjust a point balance.Blockchain API host 104 may also send adjustment request to the networkof consensus participants 103 (Step 306). Consensus participants 103 mayachieve consensus and thus new entry to blockchain 102 (Step 307).Consensus participants 103 may notify loyalty partner site 106 (Step308) of the completed balance adjustment. Consensus participants 103 mayalso notify customer 109 (Step 309) of the completed balance adjustment.

With reference to FIG. 4, a process 400 is shown for checking a loyaltypoint balance in loyalty point network 100, in accordance with variousembodiments. Customer 109 request his or her loyalty point balance inloyalty wallet 105 (Step 401). Loyalty wallet 105 may prepare and/orsign the request (Step 402). Loyalty wallet 105 may sign the request byperforming a crypto operation with a private key from an asymmetriccryptographic key pair as described above. Loyalty wallet 105 maytransmit the signed request to blockchain API host 104 (Step 403).

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may validate thesignature and prepare a proposal to inquire point balance (Step 404).Blockchain API host 104 may validate the signature by performing acryptographic operation using the public key on the data what wasencrypted by loyalty wallet 105 using the corresponding private key.Blockchain API host 104 may prepare the proposal by preparing data forwriting to a block of the blockchain including, for example, anidentifier of the customer (e.g., the public key or blockchain address),the transaction (e.g., a balance inquiry), the requesting party, atimestamp, or any other data for inclusion in the blockchain.

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may propagate theproposal to consensus participants 103 by transmitting the proposaland/or writing the proposal to blockchain 102 (Step 405). Consensusparticipants 103 may achieve consensus and add the proposal to theblockchain 102 (Step 406). The consensus participants 103 and/orblockchain API host 104 may notify customer 109 by writing to blockchain102 and/or transmitting a confirmation and/or a balance to loyaltywallet 105 (Step 407).

Referring now to FIG. 5, a process 500 is shown for spending loyaltypoints with a loyalty partner site 106 of loyalty point network 100, inaccordance with various embodiments. Customer 109 may shop on a loyaltypartner site 106 using a website or native application (Step 501).Loyalty partner site 106 may host a checkout page (Step 502). Thecheckout page may offer various payment methods such as credit, ACH,gift cards, and loyalty points, for example. Customer 109 may selectloyalty points as a payment method on loyalty partner site 106 (Step503).

In response to the selection of loyalty points as a payment method, acomputing device may open loyalty wallet 105 installed on the computingdevice by a deep link (Step 504). A deep link allows a first applicationrunning on a computing device to launch a second application installedon the computing device and/or pass data from the first application tothe second application. For example, web browsers running on mobiledevices often launch an application store to facilitate installation ofa particular application on the mobile device. Here, the deep linktriggered by selecting points as a payment method may launch loyaltywallet 105 and send as parameters the merchant blockchain account (e.g.,the merchant's public key) and the amount of purchase.

In various embodiments, the computing device may prompt for a securitypassword to access loyalty wallet 105 (Step 505), and the computingdevice may receive and/or authenticate the password from customer 109(Step 506). The password may be in the form of a pin, passcode,password, biometric identifier, one-time password, or other datasuitable for authenticating customer 109. Loyalty wallet 105 may decryptthe private key stored on the computing device and sign a request to payloyalty partner site 106 using loyalty points (Step 507). The requestmay include the data passed to loyalty wallet 105 by the deep link inresponse to loyalty partner site 106 launching loyalty wallet 105. Forexample, the request may include the merchant's blockchain address andthe amount of purchase.

In various embodiments, loyalty wallet 105 may send the payment requestto blockchain API host 104 (Step 508). Blockchain API host 104 mayvalidate the signature in response to receiving the request byperforming a cryptographic operation using the public key on the datathat was encrypted by loyalty wallet 105 using the corresponding privatekey. Blockchain API host 104 may prepare the proposal by preparing datafor writing to a block of the blockchain including, for example, thecustomer's blockchain address (e.g., the public key), the transaction(e.g., a payment), a transaction amount, the merchant's blockchainaddress, a timestamp, or any other data for inclusion in the blockchain.

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may propagate theproposal to consensus participants 103 by transmitting the proposaland/or writing the proposal to blockchain 102 (Step 510). Consensusparticipants 103 may achieve consensus and add the proposal to theblockchain 102 (Step 511). The consensus participants 103 and/orblockchain API host 104 may thus notify customer 109 by writing datafrom the proposal to blockchain 102 and/or transmitting a confirmationto loyalty wallet 105 (Step 512). Once written to the blockchain, thedata from the proposal updates the account balance for customer 109 byremoving the amount of loyalty points spent with loyalty partner site106.

With reference to FIG. 6, a process 600 is shown for peer-to-peertransfer of loyalty points in loyalty point network 100, in accordancewith various embodiments. Customer 109 may request a peers' account(Step 601). The account may be sent to the customer via a message oremail, for example, and may come in the form of the peer's public key,UUID, and/or blockchain address. Loyalty wallet 105 may fetch the peer'saddress (Step 602). For example, loyalty wallet 105 may scan acommunication channel to identify the account, may allow customer 109 toenter the account, or may communicate with a loyalty wallet belonging tothe peer to receive the account.

In various embodiments, loyalty wallet 105 running on the customer'scomputing device may prompt customer 109 for a security password (Step603), and the computing device may receive and/or authenticate thepassword from customer 109 (Step 604). The password may be in the formof a pin, passcode, password, biometric identifier, one-time password,or other data suitable for authenticating customer 109. Loyalty wallet105 may decrypt the private key stored on the computing device and signa request to transfer loyalty points to the peer's account (Step 605).The request may include, for example, the peer's account and the amountof points for transfer to the peer.

In various embodiments, loyalty wallet 105 may send the transfer requestto blockchain API host 104 (Step 606). Blockchain API host 104 mayvalidate the signature and prepare a proposal in response to receivingthe request (Step 607). Blockchain API host 104 may validate thesignature by performing a cryptographic operation using the public keyon the data that was encrypted by loyalty wallet 105 using thecorresponding private key. Blockchain API host 104 may also prepare atransfer proposal by preparing data for writing to a block of theblockchain with the data including, for example, the customer'sblockchain address (e.g., the public key), the transaction (e.g., atransfer), the peer's account (e.g., blockchain address), a timestamp,the transfer amount, or any other data for inclusion in the blockchain.

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may propagate theproposal to consensus participants 103 by transmitting the proposaland/or writing the proposal to blockchain 102 (Step 608). Consensusparticipants 103 may achieve consensus and add the proposal to theblockchain 102 (Step 609). The consensus participants 103 and/orblockchain API host 104 may thus notify customer 109 by writing datafrom the proposal to blockchain 102 and/or transmitting a confirmationto loyalty wallet 105 (Step 610). Once written to the blockchain, thedata from the proposal updates the account balances for customer 109 andthe peer by transferring the requested amount of loyalty points from thecustomer's account to the peer's account.

With reference to FIG. 7, process 700 is shown for adding a loyaltycoalition member such as a new loyalty partner, in accordance withvarious embodiments. The candidate staff 111 may register an entity withcertificate authority 112 (Step 701). Certificate authority 112 mayrespond by providing certificates and/or private keys to the loyaltycoalition candidate staff 111 (Step 702). Loyalty coalition candidatestaff may prepare a request to add the entity as a new coalition member,sign the request, and transmit the request to blockchain API host 104(Step 703). The request may be signed by performing a cryptographicoperation on all or part of the request using the private key receivedfrom the certificate authority 112.

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may verify the signatureby performing a cryptographic operation on the signed data using thepublic key corresponding to the entity's private key (Step 704).Blockchain API host 104 may also prepare a proposal to add the entity toloyalty point network 100. Blockchain API host 104 may propagate theproposal to consensus participants 103 by transmitting the proposaland/or writing the proposal to blockchain 102 (Step 705). Consensusparticipants 103 may achieve consensus and add the proposal to theblockchain 102 (Step 706). The consensus participants 103 and/orblockchain API host 104 may thus notify loyalty coalition candidatestaff 111 by writing data from the proposal to blockchain 102 and/ortransmitting a confirmation to loyalty wallet 105 (Step 707). Oncewritten to the blockchain, the data from the proposal adds the entity tothe loyalty payment network of network 100.

With reference to FIG. 8, a process 800 for adding a currency exchangeto loyalty payment network 100 is shown, in accordance with variousembodiments. The candidate staff 113 working on behalf of theregistering entity may register an entity with certificate authority 112(Step 801). Certificate authority 112 may respond by providingcertificates and/or private keys to the currency exchange candidatestaff 113 (Step 802). Currency exchange candidate staff 113 may preparea request to add the entity as a currency exchange, sign the request,and transmit the request to blockchain API host 104 (Step 803). Therequest may be signed by performing a cryptographic operation on all orpart of the request using the private key received from the certificateauthority 112.

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may verify the signatureby performing a cryptographic operation on the signed data using thepublic key corresponding to the entity's private key (Step 804).Blockchain API host 104 may also prepare a proposal to add the entity toloyalty point network 100 as a currency exchange. Blockchain API host104 may propagate the proposal to consensus participants 103 bytransmitting the proposal and/or writing the proposal to blockchain 102(Step 805). Consensus participants 103 may achieve consensus and add theproposal to the blockchain 102 (Step 806). The consensus participants103 and/or blockchain API host 104 may thus notify currency exchangecandidate staff 113 by writing data from the proposal to blockchain 102and/or transmitting a confirmation to loyalty wallet 105 (Step 807).Once written to the blockchain, the data from the proposal adds theentity to the loyalty payment network of network 100 as a currencyexchange.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a process 900 is shown for exchanging loyaltypoints for fiat currency in loyalty payment network 100, in accordancewith various embodiments. Customer 109 accesses on a currency exchangesite 107 using a website or native application to request a currencyexchange rate (Step 901). Currency exchange site 107 may provideexchange rates from loyalty points into one or more fiat currenciesand/or from fiat currencies into loyalty points (Step 902). Customer 109may provide to currency exchange site 107 exchange information inrequesting the currency exchange (Step 903). The exchange informationmay include destination account for the fiat currency, ACH details,currency type, currency amount, or other data.

In response to the request for a currency exchange, a computing devicemay open loyalty wallet 105 installed on the computing device by a deeplink (Step 904). The deep link triggered by requesting a currencyexchange from points to fiat currency may launch loyalty wallet 105 andsend as parameters the requested fiat currency type, the requested fiatcurrency amount, the amount of loyalty points to exchange, and/or theaccount of the currency exchange (e.g., the exchange's public key,UUID).

In various embodiments, the computing device may prompt for a securitypassword to access loyalty wallet 105 (Step 905), and the computingdevice may receive and/or authenticate the password from customer 109(Step 906). The password may be in the form of a pin, passcode,password, biometric identifier, one-time password, or other datasuitable for authenticating customer 109. Loyalty wallet 105 may decryptthe private key stored on the computing device and sign a request toexchange currency with currency exchange site 107 (Step 907). Therequest may include the data passed to loyalty wallet 105 by the deeplink in response to currency exchange site 107 launching loyalty wallet105. For example, the request may include the exchange's account, theamount of loyalty points to exchange, and the fiat currency type.

In various embodiments, loyalty wallet 105 may send the exchange requestto blockchain API host 104 (Step 908). Blockchain API host 104 mayvalidate the signature in response to receiving the request byperforming a cryptographic operation using the public key on the datathat was encrypted by loyalty wallet 105 using the corresponding privatekey (Step 909). Blockchain API host 104 may prepare the proposal bypreparing data for writing to a block of the blockchain including, forexample, the customer's blockchain address (e.g., the public key), thetransaction (e.g., a currency exchange), an exchange amount, themerchant's blockchain address, a timestamp, or any other data forinclusion in the blockchain.

In various embodiments, blockchain API host 104 may propagate theproposal to consensus participants 103 by transmitting the proposaland/or writing the proposal to blockchain 102 (Step 910). Consensusparticipants 103 may achieve consensus and add the proposal to theblockchain 102 (Step 911). The consensus participants 103 and/orblockchain API host 104 may thus notify the currency exchange by writingdata from the proposal to blockchain 102 and/or transmitting aconfirmation to currency exchange site 107 (Step 912). Once written tothe blockchain, the data from the proposal updates the account balancefor customer 109 by removing the amount of loyalty points exchanged withcurrency exchange site 107. The currency exchange may credit the bankaccount identified to currency exchange site 107 with the fiat currencyamount (Step 913). The currency exchange may use an ACH transfer tocredit customer 109 with the account and transfer information entered bycustomer 109 (in Step 903). Currency exchange site 107 may notifyloyalty wallet 105 in response to completion of the exchange (Step 914).The notification may take the form of a text message, email, or pushnotification, for example.

The processes described herein improve the functioning of the computerby propagating loyalty point data quickly and immutably. For example, bythe user may simply request a transaction using stored blockchain keysand account numbers as opposed to manually inputting data, the userperforms less computer functions and provides less input, which saves ondata storage and memory which speeds processing. Additionally, bytransmitting, storing, and accessing data using the processes describedherein, the security of the data is improved, which decreases the riskof the computer or network from being compromised. Use of blockchain 108ensures integrity and immutability of communications in such way thatneither of the interacting parties have to rely on a specific entity tomaintain the state of the ledger. The use of blockchain 108 may alsoenable full transparency. Since all participants in effect maintain asingle ledger, consistency may be maintained between various blockchainnodes. The complexity of system 100 is also reduced by alleviating theuse of offline and/or batch processes typically used to keep multiplesystems in sync.

Systems, methods and computer program products are provided. In thedetailed description herein, references to “various embodiments”, “oneembodiment”, “an embodiment”, “an example embodiment”, etc., indicatethat the embodiment described may include a particular feature,structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarilyinclude the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover,such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic isdescribed in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it iswithin the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature,structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodimentswhether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, itwill be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implementthe disclosure in alternative embodiments.

As used herein, “satisfy”, “meet”, “match”, “associated with” or similarphrases may include an identical match, a partial match, meeting certaincriteria, matching a subset of data, a correlation, satisfying certaincriteria, a correspondence, an association, an algorithmic relationshipand/or the like. Similarly, as used herein, “authenticate” or similarterms may include an exact authentication, a partial authentication,authenticating a subset of data, a correspondence, satisfying certaincriteria, an association, an algorithmic relationship and/or the like.

Terms and phrases similar to “associate” and/or “associating” mayinclude tagging, flagging, correlating, using a look-up table or anyother method or system for indicating or creating a relationship betweenelements, such as, for example, (i) a transaction account and (ii) anitem (e.g., offer, reward, discount) and/or digital channel. Moreover,the associating may occur at any point, in response to any suitableaction, event, or period of time. The associating may occur atpre-determined intervals, periodic, randomly, once, more than once, orin response to a suitable request or action. Any of the information maybe distributed and/or accessed via a software enabled link, wherein thelink may be sent via an email, text, post, social network input and/orany other method known in the art.

As used herein, “transmit” may include sending electronic data from onesystem component to another over a network connection. Additionally, asused herein, “data” may include encompassing information such ascommands, queries, files, data for storage, and the like in digital orany other form.

Phrases and terms similar to “account”, “account number”, “account code”or “consumer account” as used herein, may include any device, code(e.g., one or more of an authorization/access code, personalidentification number (“PIN”), Internet code, other identification code,and/or the like), number, letter, symbol, digital certificate, smartchip, digital signal, analog signal, biometric or otheridentifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the consumer to access,interact with or communicate with the system. The account number mayoptionally be located on or associated with a rewards account, chargeaccount, credit account, debit account, prepaid account, telephone card,embossed card, smart card, magnetic stripe card, bar code card,transponder, radio frequency card or an associated account.

The phrases consumer, customer, user, account holder, account affiliate,cardmember or the like shall include any person, entity, business,government organization, business, software, hardware, machineassociated with a transaction account, buys merchant offerings offeredby one or more merchants using the account and/or who is legallydesignated for performing transactions on the account, regardless ofwhether a physical card is associated with the account. For example, thecardmember may include a transaction account owner, a transactionaccount user, an account affiliate, a child account user, a subsidiaryaccount user, a beneficiary of an account, a custodian of an account,and/or any other person or entity affiliated or associated with atransaction account.

Any communication, transmission and/or channel discussed herein mayinclude any system or method for delivering content (e.g. data,information, metadata, etc), and/or the content itself. The content maybe presented in any form or medium, and in various embodiments, thecontent may be delivered electronically and/or capable of beingpresented electronically. For example, a channel may comprise a websiteor device (e.g., Facebook, YOUTUBE®, APPLE®TV®, PANDORA®, XBOX®, SONY®PLAYSTATION®), a uniform resource locator (“URL”), a document (e.g., aMICROSOFT® Word® document, a MICROSOFT® Excel® document, an ADOBE® .pdfdocument, etc.), an “ebook,” an “emagazine,” an application ormicroapplication (as described herein), an SMS or other type of textmessage, an email, facebook, twitter, MMS and/or other type ofcommunication technology. In various embodiments, a channel may behosted or provided by a data partner. In various embodiments, thedistribution channel may comprise at least one of a merchant website, asocial media website, affiliate or partner websites, an external vendor,a mobile device communication, social media network and/or locationbased service. Distribution channels may include at least one of amerchant website, a social media site, affiliate or partner websites, anexternal vendor, and a mobile device communication. Examples of socialmedia sites include FACEBOOK®, FOURSQUARE®, TWITTER®, MYSPACE®,LINKEDIN®, and the like. Examples of affiliate or partner websitesinclude AMERICAN EXPRESS®, GROUPON®, LIVINGSOCIAL®, and the like.Moreover, examples of mobile device communications include texting,email, and mobile applications for smartphones.

A “consumer profile” or “consumer profile data” may comprise anyinformation or data about a consumer that describes an attributeassociated with the consumer (e.g., a preference, an interest,demographic information, personally identifying information, and thelike).

In various embodiments, the methods described herein are implementedusing the various particular machines described herein. The methodsdescribed herein may be implemented using the below particular machines,and those hereinafter developed, in any suitable combination, as wouldbe appreciated immediately by one skilled in the art. Further, as isunambiguous from this disclosure, the methods described herein mayresult in various transformations of certain articles.

For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, applicationdevelopment and other functional aspects of the systems (and componentsof the individual operating components of the systems) may not bedescribed in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown inthe various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplaryfunctional relationships and/or physical couplings between the variouselements. It should be noted that many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical system.

The various system components discussed herein may include one or moreof the following: a host server or other computing systems including aprocessor for processing digital data; a memory coupled to the processorfor storing digital data; an input digitizer coupled to the processorfor inputting digital data; an application program stored in the memoryand accessible by the processor for directing processing of digital databy the processor; a display device coupled to the processor and memoryfor displaying information derived from digital data processed by theprocessor; and a plurality of databases. Various databases used hereinmay include: client data; merchant data; financial institution data;and/or like data useful in the operation of the system. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, user computer may include an operatingsystem (e.g., WINDOWS®, OS2, UNIX®, LINUX®, SOLARIS®, MacOS, etc.) aswell as various conventional support software and drivers typicallyassociated with computers.

The present system or any part(s) or function(s) thereof may beimplemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof and may beimplemented in one or more computer systems or other processing systems.However, the manipulations performed by embodiments were often referredto in terms, such as matching or selecting, which are commonlyassociated with mental operations performed by a human operator. No suchcapability of a human operator is necessary, or desirable in most cases,in any of the operations described herein. Rather, the operations may bemachine operations. Useful machines for performing the variousembodiments include general purpose digital computers or similardevices.

In fact, in various embodiments, the embodiments are directed toward oneor more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionalitydescribed herein. The computer system includes one or more processors,such as processor. The processor is connected to a communicationinfrastructure (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network).Various software embodiments are described in terms of this exemplarycomputer system. After reading this description, it will become apparentto a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement variousembodiments using other computer systems and/or architectures. Computersystem can include a display interface that forwards graphics, text, andother data from the communication infrastructure (or from a frame buffernot shown) for display on a display unit.

Computer system also includes a main memory, such as for example randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory. Thesecondary memory may include, for example, a hard disk drive and/or aremovable storage drive, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetictape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drivereads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit in a well-knownmanner. Removable storage unit represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape,optical disk, etc. which is read by and written to by removable storagedrive. As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit includes acomputer usable storage medium having stored therein computer softwareand/or data.

In various embodiments, secondary memory may include other similardevices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system. Such devices may include, for example, aremovable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such may include aprogram cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in videogame devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmableread only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) andassociated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces,which allow software and data to be transferred from the removablestorage unit to computer system.

Computer system may also include a communications interface.Communications interface allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system and external devices. Examples of communicationsinterface may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernetcard), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and datatransferred via communications interface are in the form of signalswhich may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signalscapable of being received by communications interface. These signals areprovided to communications interface via a communications path (e.g.,channel). This channel carries signals and may be implemented usingwire, cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radiofrequency (RF) link, wireless and other communications channels.

The terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” and“computer readable medium” are used to generally refer to media such asremovable storage drive and a hard disk installed in hard disk drive.These computer program products provide software to computer system.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs mayalso be received via communications interface. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the computer system to perform the features asdiscussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed,enable the processor to perform the features of various embodiments.Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer system.

In various embodiments, software may be stored in a computer programproduct and loaded into computer system using removable storage drive,hard disk drive or communications interface. The control logic(software), when executed by the processor, causes the processor toperform the functions of various embodiments as described herein. Invarious embodiments, hardware components such as application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardware statemachine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparentto persons skilled in the relevant art(s).

In various embodiments, the server may include application servers (e.g.WEB SPHERE, WEB LOGIC, JBOSS, EDB® Postgres Plus Advanced Server®(PPAS), etc.). In various embodiments, the server may include webservers (e.g. APACHE, IIS, GWS, SUN JAVA® SYSTEM WEB SERVER, JAVAVirtual Machine running on LINUX or WINDOWS).

A web client includes any device (e.g., personal computer) whichcommunicates via any network, for example such as those discussedherein. Such browser applications comprise Internet browsing softwareinstalled within a computing unit or a system to conduct onlinetransactions and/or communications. These computing units or systems maytake the form of a computer or set of computers, although other types ofcomputing units or systems may be used, including laptops, notebooks,tablets, hand held computers, personal digital assistants, set-topboxes, workstations, computer-servers, main frame computers,mini-computers, PC servers, pervasive computers, network sets ofcomputers, personal computers, such as IPADS®, IMACS®, and MACBOOKS®,kiosks, terminals, point of sale (POS) devices and/or terminals,televisions, or any other device capable of receiving data over anetwork. A web-client may run MICROSOFT® INTERNET EXPLORER®, MOZILLA®FIREFOX®, GOOGLE® CHROME®, APPLE® Safari, or any other of the myriadsoftware packages available for browsing the internet.

Practitioners will appreciate that a web client may or may not be indirect contact with an application server. For example, a web client mayaccess the services of an application server through another serverand/or hardware component, which may have a direct or indirectconnection to an Internet server. For example, a web client maycommunicate with an application server via a load balancer. In variousembodiments, access is through a network or the Internet through acommercially-available web-browser software package.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, a web client includes anoperating system (e.g., WINDOWS®/CE/Mobile, OS2, UNIX®, LINUX®,SOLARIS®, MacOS, etc.) as well as various conventional support softwareand drivers typically associated with computers. A web client mayinclude any suitable personal computer, network computer, workstation,personal digital assistant, cellular phone, smart phone, minicomputer,mainframe or the like. A web client can be in a home or businessenvironment with access to a network. In various embodiments, access isthrough a network or the Internet through a commercially availableweb-browser software package. A web client may implement securityprotocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport LayerSecurity (TLS). A web client may implement several application layerprotocols including http, https, ftp, and sftp.

In various embodiments, components, modules, and/or engines of system100 may be implemented as micro-applications or micro-apps. Micro-appsare typically deployed in the context of a mobile operating system,including for example, a WINDOWS® mobile operating system, an ANDROID®Operating System, APPLE® IOS®, a BLACKBERRY® operating system and thelike. The micro-app may be configured to leverage the resources of thelarger operating system and associated hardware via a set ofpredetermined rules which govern the operations of various operatingsystems and hardware resources. For example, where a micro-app desiresto communicate with a device or network other than the mobile device ormobile operating system, the micro-app may leverage the communicationprotocol of the operating system and associated device hardware underthe predetermined rules of the mobile operating system. Moreover, wherethe micro-app desires an input from a user, the micro-app may beconfigured to request a response from the operating system whichmonitors various hardware components and then communicates a detectedinput from the hardware to the micro-app.

As used herein an “identifier” may be any suitable identifier thatuniquely identifies an item. For example, the identifier may be aglobally unique identifier (“GUID”), which may also be referred to as auniversally unique identifier (“UUID”). The GUID may be an identifiercreated and/or implemented under the universally unique identifierstandard. Moreover, the GUID may be stored as 128-bit value that can bedisplayed as 32 hexadecimal digits. The identifier may also include amajor number, and a minor number. The major number and minor number mayeach be 16 bit integers.

The various system components may be independently, separately orcollectively suitably coupled to the network via data links whichincludes, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider(ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection withstandard modem communication, cable modem, Dish Networks®, ISDN, DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods, see,e.g., GILBERT HELD, UNDERSTANDING DATA COMMUNICATIONS (1996), which ishereby incorporated by reference. It is noted that the network may beimplemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. Moreover, the system contemplates the use,sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over anynetwork having similar functionality described herein.

“Cloud” or “Cloud computing” includes a model for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services)that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal managementeffort or service provider interaction. Cloud computing may includelocation-independent computing, whereby shared servers provideresources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand.For more information regarding cloud computing, see the NIST's (NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology) definition of cloud computing athttp://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-145/SP800-145.pdf (lastvisited June 2012), which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

The system or any components may integrate with system integrationtechnology such as, for example, the ALEXA system developed by AMAZON.Alexa is a cloud-based voice service that can help you with tasks,entertainment, general information and more. All Amazon Alexa devices,such as the Amazon Echo, Amazon Dot, Amazon Tap and Amazon Fire TV, haveaccess to the Alexa Voice Service. The system may receive voice commandsvia its voice activation technology, and activate other functions,control smart devices and/or gather information. For example, music,emails, texts, calling, questions answered, home improvementinformation, smart home communication/activation, games, shopping,making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playingaudiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, and other real timeinformation, such as news. The system may allow the user to accessinformation about eligible accounts linked to an online account acrossall Alexa-enabled devices.

The system contemplates uses in association with web services, utilitycomputing, pervasive and individualized computing, security and identitysolutions, autonomic computing, cloud computing, commodity computing,mobility and wireless solutions, open source, biometrics, grid computingand/or mesh computing.

Any databases discussed herein may include relational, hierarchical,graphical, blockchain, object-oriented structure and/or any otherdatabase configurations. Common database products that may be used toimplement the databases include DB2 by IBM® (Armonk, N.Y.), variousdatabase products available from ORACLE® Corporation (Redwood Shores,Calif.), MICROSOFT® Access® or MICROSOFT® SQL Server® by MICROSOFT®Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), MySQL by MySQL AB (Uppsala, Sweden),MongoDB®, Redis®, Apache Cassandra®, or any other suitable databaseproduct. Moreover, the databases may be organized in any suitablemanner, for example, as data tables or lookup tables. Each record may bea single file, a series of files, a linked series of data fields or anyother data structure.

The blockchain structure may include a distributed database thatmaintains a growing list of data records. The blockchain may provideenhanced security because each block may hold individual transactionsand the results of any blockchain executables. Each block may contain atimestamp and a link to a previous block. Blocks may be linked becauseeach block may include the hash of the prior block in the blockchain.The linked blocks form a chain, with only one successor block allowed tolink to one other predecessor block for a single chain. Forks may bepossible where divergent chains are established from a previouslyuniform blockchain. For more information on blockchain-based paymentnetworks, see U.S. application Ser. No. 15/266,350 titled SYSTEMS ANDMETHODS FOR BLOCKCHAIN BASED PAYMENT NETWORKS and filed on Sep. 15,2016, the contents of which is incorporated by reference here in itsentirety.

Association of certain data may be accomplished through any desired dataassociation technique such as those known or practiced in the art. Forexample, the association may be accomplished either manually orautomatically. Automatic association techniques may include, forexample, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, using akey field in the tables to speed searches, sequential searches throughall the tables and files, sorting records in the file according to aknown order to simplify lookup, and/or the like. The association stepmay be accomplished by a database merge function, for example, using a“key field” in pre-selected databases or data sectors. Various databasetuning steps are contemplated to optimize database performance. Forexample, frequently used files such as indexes may be placed on separatefile systems to reduce In/Out (“I/O”) bottlenecks.

One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons,any databases, systems, devices, servers or other components of thesystem may consist of any combination thereof at a single location or atmultiple locations, wherein each database or system includes any ofvarious suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes,encryption, decryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.

The computing unit of the web client may be further equipped with anInternet browser connected to the Internet or an intranet using standarddial-up, cable, DSL or any other Internet protocol known in the art.Transactions originating at a web client may pass through a firewall inorder to prevent unauthorized access from users of other networks.Further, additional firewalls may be deployed between the varyingcomponents of CMS to further enhance security.

The computers discussed herein may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. Inone embodiment, the MICROSOFT® INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES® (IIS),MICROSOFT® Transaction Server (MTS), and MICROSOFT® SQL Server, are usedin conjunction with the MICROSOFT® operating system, MICROSOFT® NT webserver software, a MICROSOFT® SQL Server database system, and aMICROSOFT® Commerce Server. Additionally, components such as Access orMICROSOFT® SQL Server, ORACLE®, Sybase, Informix MySQL, Interbase, etc.,may be used to provide an Active Data Object (ADO) compliant databasemanagement system. In one embodiment, the Apache web server is used inconjunction with a Linux operating system, a MySQL database, and thePerl, PHP, Ruby, and/or Python programming languages.

Any of the communications, inputs, storage, databases or displaysdiscussed herein may be facilitated through a website having web pages.The term “web page” as it is used herein is not meant to limit the typeof documents and applications that might be used to interact with theuser. For example, a typical website might include, in addition tostandard HTML documents, various forms, JAVA® applets, JAVASCRIPT,active server pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts (CGI),extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading style sheets(CSS), AJAX (Asynchronous JAVASCRIPT And XML), helper applications,plug-ins, and the like. A server may include a web service that receivesa request from a web server, the request including a URL and an IPaddress (123.56.789.234). The web server retrieves the appropriate webpages and sends the data or applications for the web pages to the IPaddress. Web services are applications that are capable of interactingwith other applications over a communications means, such as theinternet. Web services are typically based on standards or protocolssuch as XML, SOAP, AJAX, WSDL and UDDI. Web services methods are wellknown in the art, and are covered in many standard texts. See, e.g.,ALEX NGHIEM, IT WEB SERVICES: A ROADMAP FOR THE ENTERPRISE (2003),hereby incorporated by reference. For example, representational statetransfer (REST), or RESTful, web services may provide one way ofenabling interoperability between applications.

Each participant is equipped with a computing device in order tointeract with the system and facilitate online commerce transactions.The customer has a computing unit in the form of a personal computer,although other types of computing units may be used including laptops,notebooks, hand held computers, set-top boxes, cellular telephones,touch-tone telephones and the like. The merchant has a computing unitimplemented in the form of a computer-server, although otherimplementations are contemplated by the system. The bank has a computingcenter shown as a main frame computer. However, the bank computingcenter may be implemented in other forms, such as a mini-computer, a PCserver, a network of computers located in the same of differentgeographic locations, or the like. Moreover, the system contemplates theuse, sale or distribution of any goods, services or information over anynetwork having similar functionality described herein

The system and method may be described herein in terms of functionalblock components, screen shots, optional selections and variousprocessing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocksmay be realized by any number of hardware and/or software componentsconfigured to perform the specified functions. For example, the systemmay employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements,processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, whichmay carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or moremicroprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the softwareelements of the system may be implemented with any programming orscripting language such as C, C++, C#, JAVA®, JAVASCRIPT, JAVASCRIPTObject Notation (JSON), VBScript, Macromedia Cold Fusion, COBOL,MICROSOFT® Active Server Pages, assembly, PERL, PHP, awk, Python, VisualBasic, SQL Stored Procedures, PL/SQL, any UNIX shell script, andextensible markup language (XML) with the various algorithms beingimplemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes,routines or other programming elements. Further, it should be noted thatthe system may employ any number of conventional techniques for datatransmission, signaling, data processing, network control, and the like.Still further, the system could be used to detect or prevent securityissues with a client-side scripting language, such as JAVASCRIPT,VBScript or the like. For a basic introduction of cryptography andnetwork security, see any of the following references: (1) “AppliedCryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C,” by BruceSchneier, published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition, 1995); (2)“JAVA® Cryptography” by Jonathan Knudson, published by O'Reilly &Associates (1998); (3) “Cryptography & Network Security: Principles &Practice” by William Stallings, published by Prentice Hall; all of whichare hereby incorporated by reference.

It will be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand the flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocksin the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. The process flows depictedare merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of thedisclosure. For example, the steps recited in any of the method orprocess descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited tothe order presented.

These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructionsthat execute on the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks. These computer program instructions may alsobe stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support combinations of means for performing the specifiedfunctions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions,and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each functional block of the block diagramsand flowchart illustrations, and combinations of functional blocks inthe block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, can be implemented byeither special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform thespecified functions or steps, or suitable combinations of specialpurpose hardware and computer instructions. Further, illustrations ofthe process flows and the descriptions thereof may make reference touser WINDOWS®, webpages, websites, web forms, prompts, etc.Practitioners will appreciate that the illustrated steps describedherein may comprise in any number of configurations including the use ofWINDOWS®, webpages, web forms, popup WINDOWS®, prompts and the like. Itshould be further appreciated that the multiple steps as illustrated anddescribed may be combined into single webpages and/or WINDOWS® but havebeen expanded for the sake of simplicity. In other cases, stepsillustrated and described as single process steps may be separated intomultiple webpages and/or WINDOWS® but have been combined for simplicity.

In various embodiments, the software elements of the system may also beimplemented using Node.js®. Node.js® may implement several modules tohandle various core functionalities. For example, a package managementmodule, such as npm®, may be implemented as an open source library toaid in organizing the installation and management of third-partyNode.js® programs. Node.js® may also implement a process manager, suchas, for example, Parallel Multithreaded Machine (“PM2”); a resource andperformance monitoring tool, such as, for example, Node ApplicationMetrics (“appmetrics”); a library module for building user interfaces,such as for example ReachJS®; and/or any other suitable and/or desiredmodule.

The disclosure and claims do not describe only a particular outcome ofoperating a loyalty point network, but the disclosure and claims includespecific rules for implementing the outcome of operating a loyalty pointnetwork and that render information into a specific format that is thenused and applied to create the desired results of operating a loyaltypoint network, as set forth in McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games AmericaInc. (Fed. Cir. case number 15-1080, Sep. 13, 2016). In other words, theoutcome of operating a loyalty point network can be performed by manydifferent types of rules and combinations of rules, and this disclosureincludes various embodiments with specific rules. While the absence ofcomplete preemption may not guarantee that a claim is eligible, thedisclosure does not sufficiently preempt the field of operating aloyalty point network at all. The disclosure acts to narrow, confine,and otherwise tie down the disclosure so as not to cover the generalabstract idea of just operating a loyalty point network. Significantly,other systems and methods exist for operating a loyalty point network,so it would be inappropriate to assert that the claimed inventionpreempts the field or monopolizes the basic tools of operating a loyaltypoint network. In other words, the disclosure will not prevent othersfrom operating a loyalty point network, because other systems arealready performing the functionality in different ways than the claimedinvention. Moreover, the claimed invention includes an inventive conceptthat may be found in the non-conventional and non-generic arrangement ofknown, conventional pieces, in conformance with Bascom v. AT&T Mobility,2015-1763 (Fed. Cir. 2016). The disclosure and claims go way beyond anyconventionality of any one of the systems in that the interaction andsynergy of the systems leads to additional functionality that is notprovided by any one of the systems operating independently. Thedisclosure and claims may also include the interaction between multipledifferent systems, so the disclosure cannot be considered animplementation of a generic computer, or just “apply it” to an abstractprocess. The disclosure and claims may also be directed to improvementsto software with a specific implementation of a solution to a problem inthe software arts.

In various embodiments, the system and method may include alerting asubscriber when their computer is offline. The system may includegenerating customized information and alerting a remote subscriber thatthe information can be accessed from their computer. The alerts aregenerated by filtering received information, building information alertsand formatting the alerts into data blocks based upon subscriberpreference information. The data blocks are transmitted to thesubscriber's wireless device which, when connected to the computer,causes the computer to auto-launch an application to display theinformation alert and provide access to more detailed information aboutthe information alert. More particularly, the method may compriseproviding a viewer application to a subscriber for installation on theremote subscriber computer; receiving information at a transmissionserver sent from a data source over the Internet, the transmissionserver comprising a microprocessor and a memory that stores the remotesubscriber's preferences for information format, destination address,specified information, and transmission schedule, wherein themicroprocessor filters the received information by comparing thereceived information to the specified information; generates aninformation alert from the filtered information that contains a name, aprice and a universal resource locator (URL), which specifies thelocation of the data source; formats the information alert into datablocks according to said information format; and transmits the formattedinformation alert over a wireless communication channel to a wirelessdevice associated with a subscriber based upon the destination addressand transmission schedule, wherein the alert activates the applicationto cause the information alert to display on the remote subscribercomputer and to enable connection via the URL to the data source overthe Internet when the wireless device is locally connected to the remotesubscriber computer and the remote subscriber computer comes online.

In various embodiments, the system and method may include a graphicaluser interface for dynamically relocating/rescaling obscured textualinformation of an underlying window to become automatically viewable tothe user. By permitting textual information to be dynamically relocatedbased on an overlap condition, the computer's ability to displayinformation is improved. More particularly, the method for dynamicallyrelocating textual information within an underlying window displayed ina graphical user interface may comprise displaying a first windowcontaining textual information in a first format within a graphical userinterface on a computer screen; displaying a second window within thegraphical user interface; constantly monitoring the boundaries of thefirst window and the second window to detect an overlap condition wherethe second window overlaps the first window such that the textualinformation in the first window is obscured from a user's view;determining the textual information would not be completely viewable ifrelocated to an unobstructed portion of the first window; calculating afirst measure of the area of the first window and a second measure ofthe area of the unobstructed portion of the first window; calculating ascaling factor which is proportional to the difference between the firstmeasure and the second measure; scaling the textual information basedupon the scaling factor; automatically relocating the scaled textualinformation, by a processor, to the unobscured portion of the firstwindow in a second format during an overlap condition so that the entirescaled textual information is viewable on the computer screen by theuser; and automatically returning the relocated scaled textualinformation, by the processor, to the first format within the firstwindow when the overlap condition no longer exists.

In various embodiments, the system may also include isolating andremoving malicious code from electronic messages (e.g., email) toprevent a computer from being compromised, for example by being infectedwith a computer virus. The system may scan electronic communications formalicious computer code and clean the electronic communication before itmay initiate malicious acts. The system operates by physically isolatinga received electronic communication in a “quarantine” sector of thecomputer memory. A quarantine sector is a memory sector created by thecomputer's operating system such that files stored in that sector arenot permitted to act on files outside that sector. When a communicationcontaining malicious code is stored in the quarantine sector, the datacontained within the communication is compared to maliciouscode-indicative patterns stored within a signature database. Thepresence of a particular malicious code-indicative pattern indicates thenature of the malicious code. The signature database further includescode markers that represent the beginning and end points of themalicious code. The malicious code is then extracted from maliciouscode-containing communication. An extraction routine is run by a fileparsing component of the processing unit. The file parsing routineperforms the following operations: scan the communication for theidentified beginning malicious code marker; flag each scanned bytebetween the beginning marker and the successive end malicious codemarker; continue scanning until no further beginning malicious codemarker is found; and create a new data file by sequentially copying allnon-flagged data bytes into the new file, which thus forms a sanitizedcommunication file. The new, sanitized communication is transferred to anon-quarantine sector of the computer memory. Subsequently, all data onthe quarantine sector is erased. More particularly, the system includesa method for protecting a computer from an electronic communicationcontaining malicious code by receiving an electronic communicationcontaining malicious code in a computer with a memory having a bootsector, a quarantine sector and a non-quarantine sector; storing thecommunication in the quarantine sector of the memory of the computer,wherein the quarantine sector is isolated from the boot and thenon-quarantine sector in the computer memory, where code in thequarantine sector is prevented from performing write actions on othermemory sectors; extracting, via file parsing, the malicious code fromthe electronic communication to create a sanitized electroniccommunication, wherein the extracting comprises scanning thecommunication for an identified beginning malicious code marker,flagging each scanned byte between the beginning marker and a successiveend malicious code marker, continuing scanning until no furtherbeginning malicious code marker is found, and creating a new data fileby sequentially copying all non-flagged data bytes into a new file thatforms a sanitized communication file; transferring the sanitizedelectronic communication to the non-quarantine sector of the memory; anddeleting all data remaining in the quarantine sector.

In various embodiments, the system may also address the problem ofretaining control over customers during affiliate purchase transactions,using a system for co-marketing the “look and feel” of the host web pagewith the product-related content information of the advertisingmerchant's web page. The system can be operated by a third-partyoutsource provider, who acts as a broker between multiple hosts andmerchants. Prior to implementation, a host places links to a merchant'swebpage on the host's web page. The links are associated withproduct-related content on the merchant's web page. Additionally, theoutsource provider system stores the “look and feel” information fromeach host's web pages in a computer data store, which is coupled to acomputer server. The “look and feel” information includes visuallyperceptible elements such as logos, colors, page layout, navigationsystem, frames, mouse-over effects or other elements that are consistentthrough some or all of each host's respective web pages. A customer whoclicks on an advertising link is not transported from the host web pageto the merchant's web page, but instead is re-directed to a compositeweb page that combines product information associated with the selecteditem and visually perceptible elements of the host web page. Theoutsource provider's server responds by first identifying the host webpage where the link has been selected and retrieving the correspondingstored “look and feel” information. The server constructs a compositeweb page using the retrieved “look and feel” information of the host webpage, with the product-related content embedded within it, so that thecomposite web page is visually perceived by the customer as associatedwith the host web page. The server then transmits and presents thiscomposite web page to the customer so that she effectively remains onthe host web page to purchase the item without being redirected to thethird party merchant affiliate. Because such composite pages arevisually perceived by the customer as associated with the host web page,they give the customer the impression that she is viewing pages servedby the host. Further, the customer is able to purchase the item withoutbeing redirected to the third party merchant affiliate, thus allowingthe host to retain control over the customer. This system enables thehost to receive the same advertising revenue streams as before butwithout the loss of visitor traffic and potential customers. Moreparticularly, the system may be useful in an outsource provider servingweb pages offering commercial opportunities. The computer storecontaining data, for each of a plurality of first web pages, defining aplurality of visually perceptible elements, which visually perceptibleelements correspond to the plurality of first web pages; wherein each ofthe first web pages belongs to one of a plurality of web page owners;wherein each of the first web pages displays at least one active linkassociated with a commerce object associated with a buying opportunityof a selected one of a plurality of merchants; and wherein the selectedmerchant, the outsource provider, and the owner of the first web pagedisplaying the associated link are each third parties with respect toone other; a computer server at the outsource provider, which computerserver is coupled to the computer store and programmed to: receive fromthe web browser of a computer user a signal indicating activation of oneof the links displayed by one of the first web pages; automaticallyidentify as the source page the one of the first web pages on which thelink has been activated; in response to identification of the sourcepage, automatically retrieve the stored data corresponding to the sourcepage; and using the data retrieved, automatically generate and transmitto the web browser a second web page that displays: informationassociated with the commerce object associated with the link that hasbeen activated, and the plurality of visually perceptible elementsvisually corresponding to the source page.

The term “non-transitory” is to be understood to remove only propagatingtransitory signals per se from the claim scope and does not relinquishrights to all standard computer-readable media that are not onlypropagating transitory signals per se. Stated another way, the meaningof the term “non-transitory computer-readable medium” and“non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” should be construed toexclude only those types of transitory computer-readable media whichwere found in In Re Nuitjten to fall outside the scope of patentablesubject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of the disclosure. The scope of the disclosure isaccordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, inwhich reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean“one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one ormore.” Moreover, where a phrase similar to ‘at least one of A, B, and C’or ‘at least one of A, B, or C’ is used in the claims or specification,it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone maybe present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, Calone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of theelements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example,A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. Although the disclosureincludes a method, it is contemplated that it may be embodied ascomputer program instructions on a tangible computer-readable carrier,such as a magnetic or optical memory or a magnetic or optical disk. Allstructural, chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described various embodiments that are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is notnecessary for a device or method to address each and every problemsought to be solved by the present disclosure, for it to be encompassedby the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or methodstep in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is intended to invoke35 U.S.C. 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using thephrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”,or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusiveinclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus thatcomprises a list of elements does not include only those elements butmay include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to suchprocess, method, article, or apparatus.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, by a hostcomputing device that provides a blockchain application programminginterface (API), a registration request from a loyalty wallet executedon a client device for access to a loyalty point network, wherein theregistration request comprises a public key generated by the loyaltywallet of the client device and a signature signed by the loyaltywallet, the public key is associated with a first customer account,wherein the loyalty point network restricts access to a blockchainnetwork for a plurality of authorized devices and a plurality of loyaltypartner websites; validating, by the host computing device, thesignature of the registration request for access to the loyalty pointnetwork in response to receiving the registration request from theloyalty wallet, the validation comprises performing a cryptographicoperation on the registration request using the public key; generating,by the host computing device, a registration proposal for the loyaltywallet executed on the client device; writing, by the host computingdevice, the registration proposal to the blockchain network, wherein theblockchain network comprises a plurality of consensus participantdevices that maintain a distributed database, and the client device isauthorized to access the loyalty point network in response to theregistration proposal being written to the blockchain network;receiving, by the host computing device, a request to transfer an amountof loyalty points from the first customer account associated with theclient device to a second customer account in the loyalty point network,wherein the request to transfer comprises the signature signed by theloyalty wallet; validating, by the host computing device, the signatureof the request to transfer by performing the cryptographic operation onthe request to transfer using the public key associated with the firstcustomer account; writing, by the host computing device, a proposal tothe blockchain network, wherein the proposal comprises a firstblockchain address for the first customer account in which the firstblockchain address corresponds to the public key, a second blockchainaddress for the second customer account, and the amount of loyaltypoints, wherein writing the proposal to the blockchain network updatesan account balance of the first customer account in the loyalty pointnetwork; receiving, by the host computing device, a point adjustmentrequest from a loyalty partner website of the plurality of loyaltypartner websites authorized for the loyalty point network, the pointadjustment request comprising the first customer account for the clientdevice; and executing, by the host computing device, a smart contract ofthe blockchain network to adjust the account balance of the firstcustomer account based at least in part on the point adjustment requestfrom the loyalty partner website.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theloyalty wallet transmits the registration request using an API call. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of consensus participantdevices achieve consensus on the proposal using at least one of proof ofwork, proof of stake, practical byzantine fault tolerance, or delegatedproof of stake.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the loyalty walletencrypts and stores a private key corresponding to the public key. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the registration request comprises afirst registration request, the public key comprises a first public key,and further comprising: receiving, by the host computing device, asecond registration request for a loyalty partner site; validating, bythe host computing device, the second registration request by performingthe cryptographic operation on at least a portion of the registrationrequest using a second public key associated with the loyalty partnersite; and transmitting, by the host computing device, a secondregistration proposal to the plurality of consensus participant devicesfor writing to the blockchain network.
 6. The method of claim 5, furthercomprising: receiving, by the host computing device, a payment requestfrom the loyalty wallet associated with the second customer account,wherein the payment request comprises a merchant account and a paymentamount; validating, by the host computing device, the payment request byperforming the cryptographic operation on at least a portion of thepayment request using a third public key associated with the secondcustomer account; and transmitting, by the host computing device, apayment proposal to the plurality of consensus participant devices forwriting to the blockchain network, wherein the payment proposal includesthe merchant account, the payment amount, and the second customeraccount.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the public key comprises afirst public key, and further comprising: receiving, by the hostcomputing device, an exchange request from the loyalty wallet associatedwith the second customer account, wherein the exchange request comprisesa currency exchange account, a fiat currency type, an exchange rate, anda loyalty point amount; validating, by the host computing device, theexchange request by performing the cryptographic operation on at least aportion of the exchange request using a second public key associatedwith the second customer account; and transmitting, by the hostcomputing device, an exchange proposal to the plurality of consensusparticipant devices for writing to the blockchain network, wherein theexchange proposal includes the currency exchange account, the fiatcurrency type, the exchange rate, and the loyalty point amount.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the hostcomputing device, a registration confirmation to the loyalty wallet onthe client device in response to writing the registration proposal tothe blockchain network.
 9. A loyalty point network, comprising: aprocessor; a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicatewith the processor, the tangible, non-transitory memory havinginstructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by theprocessor, cause a host computing device to perform operationscomprising: receiving, by the host computing device that provides ablockchain application programming interface (API), a registrationrequest from a loyalty wallet executed on a client device for access tothe loyalty point network, wherein the registration request comprises apublic key generated by the loyalty wallet of the client device and asignature signed by the loyalty wallet, the public key is associatedwith a first customer account, wherein the loyalty point networkrestricts access to a blockchain network for a plurality of authorizeddevices and a plurality of loyalty partner websites; validating, by thehost computing device, the signature of the registration request foraccess to the loyalty point network in response to receiving theregistration request from the loyalty wallet, the validation comprisesperforming a cryptographic operation on the registration request usingthe public key; generating, by the host computing device, a registrationproposal for the loyalty wallet executed on the client device; writing,by the host computing device, the registration proposal to theblockchain network, wherein the blockchain network comprises a pluralityof consensus participant devices that maintain a distributed database,and the client device is authorized to access the loyalty point networkin response to the registration proposal being written to the blockchainnetwork; receiving, by the host computing device, a request to transferan amount of loyalty points from the first customer account associatedwith the client device to a second customer account in the loyalty pointnetwork, wherein the request to transfer comprises the signature signedby the loyalty wallet; validating, by the host computing device, thesignature of the request by performing the cryptographic operation onthe request using the public key associated with the first customeraccount; writing, by the host computing device, a proposal to theblockchain network, wherein the proposal comprises a first blockchainaddress for the first customer account in which the first blockchainaddress corresponds to the public key, a second blockchain address forthe second customer account, and the amount of loyalty points, whereinwriting the proposal to the blockchain network updates an accountbalance of the first customer account in the loyalty point network;receiving, by the host computing device, a point adjustment request froma loyalty partner website of the plurality of loyalty partner websitesauthorized for the loyalty point network, the point adjustment requestcomprising the first customer account for the client device; andexecuting, by the host computing device, a smart contract of theblockchain network to adjust the account balance of the first customeraccount based at least in part on the point adjustment request from theloyalty partner website.
 10. The loyalty point network of claim 9,wherein the client device transmits the request to transfer using an APIcall.
 11. The loyalty point network of claim 9, wherein the plurality ofconsensus participant devices achieve consensus on the proposal using atleast one of a proof of work, a proof of stake, a practical byzantinefault tolerance, or a delegated proof of stake.
 12. The loyalty pointnetwork of claim 9, wherein the loyalty wallet encrypts and stores aprivate key corresponding to the public key.
 13. The loyalty pointnetwork of claim 9, wherein the registration request comprises a firstregistration request, the public key comprises a first public key, andfurther comprising: receiving, by the host computing device, a secondregistration request for a loyalty partner site; validating, by the hostcomputing device, the second registration request by performing thecryptographic operation on at least a portion of the registrationrequest using a second public key associated with the loyalty partnersite; and transmitting, by the host computing device, a secondregistration proposal to the plurality of consensus participant devicesfor writing to the blockchain network.
 14. The loyalty point network ofclaim 13, further comprising: receiving, by the host computing device, apayment request from a loyalty wallet associated with the secondcustomer account, wherein the payment request comprises a merchantaccount and a payment amount; validating, by the host computing device,the payment request by performing the cryptographic operation on atleast a portion of the payment request using a third public keyassociated with the second customer account; and transmitting, by thehost computing device, a payment proposal to the plurality of consensusparticipant devices for writing to the blockchain network, wherein thepayment proposal includes the merchant account, the payment amount, andthe second customer account.
 15. The loyalty point network of claim 9,wherein the public key comprises a first public key, and furthercomprising: receiving, by the host computing device, an exchange requestfrom a loyalty wallet associated with the second customer account,wherein the exchange request comprises a currency exchange account, afiat currency type, an exchange rate, and a loyalty point amount;validating, by the host computing device, the exchange request byperforming the cryptographic operation on at least a portion of theexchange request using a public key associated with the second customeraccount; and transmitting, by the host computing device, an exchangeproposal to the plurality of consensus participant devices for writingto the blockchain network, wherein the exchange proposal includes thecurrency exchange account, the fiat currency type, the exchange rate,and the loyalty point amount.
 16. The loyalty point network of claim 9,further comprising: transmitting, by the host computing device, aregistration confirmation to the loyalty wallet on the client device inresponse to writing the registration proposal to the blockchain network.17. An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangiblecomputer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereonthat, in response to execution by a host computing device, cause thehost computing device to perform operations comprising: receiving, bythe host computing device that provides a blockchain applicationprogramming interface (API), a registration request from a loyaltywallet executed on a client device for access to a loyalty pointnetwork, wherein the registration request comprises a public keygenerated by the loyalty wallet of the client device and a signaturesigned by the loyalty wallet, the public key is associated with a firstcustomer account, wherein the loyalty point network restricts access toa blockchain network for a plurality of authorized devices and aplurality of loyalty partner websites; validating, by the host computingdevice, the signature of the registration request for access to theloyalty point network in response to receiving the registration requestfrom the loyalty wallet, the validation comprises performing acryptographic operation on the registration request using the publickey; generating, by the host computing device, a registration proposalfor the loyalty wallet executed on the client device; writing, by thehost computing device, the registration proposal to a first block in theblockchain network, wherein the blockchain network comprises a pluralityof consensus participant devices that maintain a distributed database,and the client device is authorized to access the loyalty point networkin response to the registration proposal being written to the blockchainnetwork; receiving, by the host computing device, a request to transferan amount of loyalty points from the first customer account associatedwith the client device to a second customer account in the loyalty pointnetwork, wherein the request to transfer comprises the signature signedby the loyalty wallet; validating, by the host computing device, thesignature of the request by performing the cryptographic operation onthe request using the public key associated with the first customeraccount; writing, by the host computing device, a proposal to theblockchain network, wherein the proposal comprises a first blockchainaddress for the first customer account, a second blockchain address forthe second customer account, and the amount of loyalty points, whereinwriting the proposal to the blockchain network updates an accountbalance of the first customer account in the loyalty point network;receiving, by the host computing device, a point adjustment request froma loyalty partner website of the plurality of loyalty partner websitesauthorized for the loyalty point network, the point adjustment requestcomprising the first customer account for the client device; andexecuting, by the host computing device, a smart contract of theblockchain network to adjust the account balance of the first customeraccount based at least in part on the point adjustment request from theloyalty partner website.
 18. The article of claim 17, wherein theplurality of consensus participant devices achieve consensus on theproposal using at least one of a proof of work, a proof of stake, apractical byzantine fault tolerance, or a delegated proof of stake. 19.The article of claim 17, wherein the public key comprises a first publickey, and the operations further comprise: receiving, by the hostcomputing device, a payment request from a loyalty wallet associatedwith the second customer account, wherein the payment request comprisesa merchant account and a payment amount; validating, by the hostcomputing device, the payment request by performing the cryptographicoperation on at least a portion of the payment request using a secondpublic key associated with the second customer account; andtransmitting, by the host computing device, a payment proposal to theplurality of consensus participant devices for writing to the blockchainnetwork, wherein the payment proposal includes the merchant account, thepayment amount, and the second customer account.
 20. The article ofclaim 17, wherein the instructions, in response to execution by the hostcomputing device, cause the host computing device to perform operationscomprising: generating, by the host computing device, the proposal basedat least in part on the first blockchain address for the first customeraccount in which the first blockchain address corresponds to the publickey, the second blockchain address for the second customer account, andthe amount of loyalty points, the proposal is generated in response tothe validation of the request to transfer the amount of loyalty points.